Inclusive access is one of the key issues facing many owners of historic and traditional buildings, as most old buildings make few allowances for disabled people. Even those which have been extended or have undergone a change of use, and have already been equipped with the level entrances, ramps and toilets defined in Part M of the Building Regulations and the Technical Standards (Scotland), may need further improvements under the latest amendment of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA).

In 1996, Part 3 of the DDA made it unlawful to treat disabled people, previously protected only in employment law, less favourably. Since 1999 the DDA has required all 'service providers', including owners, tenants and employers with listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments open to the public, and churches, to make adjustments to practices and procedures, and provide information and assistance for disabled persons. In 2004 Section 21 (2) of the DDA required service providers to carry out 'reasonable adjustments' to physical features of their buildings and in 2005, the Secondary Education Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) extended the DDA to include owners and tenants of buildings used for higher education, such as universities. The 2006 regulations have extended this further, as part of a continuing process.

What is meant by disability?

Part 1 of the DDA includes a wide ranging definition of disability, based on the 'medical model' of disability: 'physical or mental impairments which have a substantial and long term [ie 12 months or more] adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'. In addition to wheelchair users and ambulant disabled persons, this definition includes those with poor manual co-ordination or little strength, for example who are unable to turn knobs, those with sensory impairments, including impaired sight and hearing, and those who lack memory, concentration or understanding. In 2005 the definition was extended to include some people with cancer and people with HIV and MS; the Disability Rights Commission (DRC -since 2007 merged with the Equality and Human Rights Commission) has recommended that the definition of disability could include as much as twenty per cent of the population. Many more people who are not disabled experience disabling conditions on a temporary basis, including pregnant women, children, elderly persons and those who are emotionally disturbed.

Four types of discrimination are identified by current legislation (since 2004): Direct discrimination; failure to make reasonable adjustments; disability related discrimination; and victimisation. Few who care for and value an old building would wish to fall foul of any of these, but access for everyone to historic buildings and sites open to the public was not always appreciated by their original builders. Castles, for example, were usually designed to discourage access! However, accessibility for as many people as possible is not only morally right and socially desirable but makes economic sense: it has been estimated that access improvements could increase visitor numbers and hence income to heritage properties by as much as forty per cent.

The first step: an access audit

The first step in improving access to an old building is to commission a properly qualified and experienced access consultant to carry out an audit. Local authority access officers and disability organisations may assist with sourcing appropriate consultants and grants. Some grant making bodies, such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, actually require access plans as a routine part of applying for project grants. Local user groups, representing a range of disabilities, can be invited to participate and contribute to the report findings. Some owners may also wish to host disability awareness or equality training sessions to equip staff to better appreciate the attitudes and problems of disabled visitors and customers.

For many old buildings, the obvious problems presented by entrance steps and the lack of wheelchair accessible toilets may seem to be the only problems, but circulation within the building and escape from it also need to be considered. Many service providers already provide large print and Braille information, tactile displays, induction loops or infra red sound enhancement, but directional wayfinding and information signage, sound quality and sound systems, lighting and decorative schemes should also be considered. Only five per cent of Britain's one million visually impaired people are completely blind and many can be helped by the use of colour schemes with subtly contrasting tones, compatible even with historic interiors. There may be other problems which should be identified from the start to ensure that effort is not wasted on what is obvious only to find that, for example, wheelchair users are not visible over a high reception counter, or people with sensory impairments cannot find their way to it.

The aim is to achieve independent access for most disabled people, with dignity and without assistance, and the audit should identify where the building falls short of this ideal, and exactly why, and suggest possible solutions and priorities. It should be based on BS8300:2001 although even this is not fully comprehensive and needs to be supplemented by RNIB and some of the many other standards that reflect the fast developing field of access studies. Tick-box checklists seldom provide the level of detail required and are quickly outdated, but aide-memoire checklists are often helpful for ensuring that everything has been covered and are used by many access consultants.

Making the necessary alterations

After the access audit has been carried out, decisions need to be taken either to remove physical obstructions, to alter them, avoid them, or to provide reasonable alternative provisions. Special care is needed to ensure that the valuable features of historic buildings are not damaged and where alterations are being contemplated it may be necessary to employ a conservation architect to assess the 'conservation barriers' to access and advise on detailed design. If the access consultant is qualified to advise on design as well, that can be an advantage.

Access Plans

Access solutions should neither marginalise nor overstate the needs of disabled people. For example, where possible, access and facilities should be as close as possible to those provided for everyone else, so that the dignity of disabled people is enhanced. The main entrance should be adapted in preference to a side or rear entrance. It is also important that the access point and disabled facilities are available to all, not exclusive to disabled users. New accessible toilets should, if possible, be sited in proximity to standard toilets. They should be unisex to enable carers and personal assistants of the opposite sex to accompany users, and ideally should not double as baby changing facilities, since this renders them unavailable to disabled people. Side access disabled toilets are better than peninsular-planned toilets, unless there are alternatives. Privacy and cleanliness should guide the design of toilets generally.

Short ramps should not exceed a gradient of 1:12, but 1:15 or less is preferred for ramps longer than about 2m. Where possible, ramps to entrances should respect the symmetry of existing elevations and not leave them with a lop-sided appearance. Steps should always be provided as well, since they can be easier for ambulant disabled people and those with visual impairments. Curved ramps can sometimes appear more 'natural' and less obtrusive and they should take advantage of existing slopes and planting to help them blend in. New walls should be constructed with materials which harmonise with the existing walls.

Ramps and steps should include suitable surface finishes and lighting provisions; steps should have contrasting nosings (ugly yellow and black stripes are not necessary) and wide treads. Ground surface treatments are of great importance for accessibility and surfaces which are hard to walk on or which impede wheelchairs should be avoided. For example, slip resistant hard surfaces such as brick or stone paving are more suitable than gravel, chippings, setts and cobbles. Similarly, rubber doormats are more suitable than coir, while shallow dense pile carpets, polished floorboards, wood blocks or tiles are easier for wheelchair users to negotiate than deep pile carpets.

Handrails are required for two or more steps and at least one handrail should be provided for ramps more than 2m long. Where possible these should be designed to replicate or harmonise with any existing examples. If adequate records survive, it may even be possible to restore original railing designs. The handrail itself should not be greater than about 50mm wide and should be shaped so that it is easy and comfortable to grip. Cold metal handrails can be painful for some people, so that wooden or plastic sections are usually preferred. It may be possible to include LED lighting beneath the handrail.

Moveable ramps may be a temporary expedient but are unlikely to be a satisfactory long term solution for most old buildings. They can be heavy to move and in some cases, may be positively hazardous to use. For historic buildings, the principle of 'reversibility' (the use of alterations which can be removed or reversed without permanent effect) should not be used as an excuse for a low standard of work that detracts from the quality and setting of the historic building.

If the design or appearance of the front of the building cannot be reconciled with ramps or handrails, it is sometimes possible to form a ramp inside the main entrance or to use a side or rear entrance. The proximity of the designated blue badge parking bays and setting down points should be carefully considered and clear signposting provided to any alternative entrance, with the access route ideally under cover. If ramps cannot be provided without great disruption or cost, stair or platform lifts can sometimes be used. Because they are often quite bulky and require fixing to masonry, these may not be acceptable on the fronts of historic buildings, but can be useful internally, in spaces of less historic value. The requirement for suitable emergency escape provisions for users should always be borne in mind and Fire and Building Control officers consulted.

. . . more legislation

The government intends that the definition of 'reasonable adjustments' under the DDA will be clarified by case law rather than regulation and so far there is no such thing as a DDA 'approved' building, or a building being 'DDA compliant'. The majority of cases brought before the courts relate to Part 2 (Employment) rather than Part 3 of the DDA. This suggests that the legislation in the UK is still weaker than in the US and Australia, despite being stronger than in most other European countries, and it may be that in the future more legislation will be brought in to make it easier for disabled people to take action against building owners who have not made reasonable adjustments.

At present, forming ramps and providing toilets for disabled persons may be zero rated for VAT purposes for charities (including churches) and residential premises, and this may apply to some other types of buildings.

The DDA does not override the need for planning permission, conservation area, listed building and/ or scheduled monument consent, and the need for these approvals may make it imossible to improve access to some historic buildings and sites. A measure of compromise, or what PPG 15 calls 'a flexible and pragmatic approach', is recommended to preserve historic value and significance. Relaxations of the building regulations may be needed and here, too, the recognition, in BS 7913, that not all standards can be applied to historic buildings, can help.

Reasonable adjustments

In view of the lack of case law, DRC Codes of Practice offer a range of criteria for assessing whether physical adjustments are likely to be reasonable, including the nature of the service provided and resources available, the effectiveness, practicability, cost and disruption of the proposed adjustments. The DDA also excludes adjustments that might 'fundamentally alter the nature of the service', which could for example include spoiling the historic character and appearance of a heritage site (Section 21(6)).

Generally, if disability access provisions are treated as 'add-ons', which are reversible and respect existing historic fabric, rather than as damaging alterations, and providing they are skilfully integrated, they need have no more effect on historic buildings than sympathetically designed modern services, health and safety or fire precautions. Responsible building owners will recognise the advantages of taking the best advice, to ensure that they can cater for the full range of access needs, and have access audits and improvements carried out long before they are faced with any possibility of compulsion.

Combining access consultancy with conservation architecture, we have carried out wheelchair movement studies and access audits, prepared access plans and advised on the design of improvements at many listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments. If you would like to discuss access improvements at your historic property, please contact us.

ROBIN KENT

Robin Kent is a qualified access consultant registered with the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC) as well as a qualified and accredited conservation architect. This text is a revised version of his article in the 1998 Building Conservation Directory and the 2003 Building Conservation website but it may not be up to date as equality legislation is developing fast.

NOTE | This article is copyright. No responsibility is accepted for errors or omissions. It provides pointers to general principles and should not be viewed as a comprehensive guide. Each historic building will need separate consideration.

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